Novel Processing for High Density Metal-Metal Composites

Materials and Manufacturing Systems (MATSYS) proposes to develop novel processing technique for metal-metal high-density reactive composites for the enhancement of new warhead concepts. This effort will combine our unique expertise in instrumented-Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) with new approaches in intermetallic design to develop a new generation of cost-efficient, high-density, high strength reactive composites. The proposed material system will use a blend of two elemental powders which can yield a fully dense composite with a density of 5 to 8 g/cc. The powders will be consolidated to full density to maximize the load-carrying capability of the composite, including strength and ductility. The consolidation will occur below the reaction initiation temperature to prevent any energy release during compaction. The existence of two different powder materials will allow for tailoring of the mechanical and reactive properties of the material by varying the volume fraction of each element. High-energy milling will be used to achieve a homogeneous structure within the powder. Upon successful demonstration, this powder-based process can be easily applied to different powders, including tri or tetra components systems, and scaled for cost-effective, high volume production of powders and fully dense composites.